HELIOS - ASSEMBLED 2015-SEP-06 - (Caselabs SMH10 | Black/Copper | EVGA SR-2 )

[alpenwasser]

HELIOS - Build Log

Table of Contents

1. 2013-APR-27: The SMH10 - Unpacking and Assembly
2. 2013-APR-28: Radiators
3. 2013-APR-29: Making a New Workshop
4. 2013-APR-29: My Old Rig
5. 2013-APR-30: The Raystorm CPU Blocks
6. 2013-JUN-16: PSU & Pump Mount, Making the 24 Pin Cable
7. 2013-JUN-21: Small Cable Progress Update
8. 2013-JUN-21: Some Sketches and Information About the Cable Lacing
9. 2013-JUL-06: What 40 Hours of Cabling Will Get You...
10. 2013-JUL-18: Various Smaller Bits
11. 2013-JUL-22: A Copper Face Plate for the Lamptron FC5V2
12. 2013-JUL-25: The Aqua Computer Aqualis Copper Edition
13. 2013-SEP-14: Prototype: The Bitfenix Spectre Pro Copper Edition
14. 2013-SEP-15: Painting the M/B Block Screws
15. 2013-SEP-20: Fan Disassembly: How-To
16. 2013-SEP-22: Quick Status Shot of the Unfinished Rig
17. 2013-SEP-23: The Bitfenix Spectre Pro Copper Edition (cont.)
18. 2013-OCT-01: Colour-Coordinating the Kryographics Titan
19. 2013-OCT-08: Loop Planning
20. 2013-OCT-09: Colour-Coordinating the Raystorms
21. 2013-OCT-13: Deciding on a Backplate, Small M/B Teaser
22. 2013-OCT-13: The EVGA SR-2 Black Edition
23. 2013-OCT-28: Requesting Opinions on Fittings...
24. 2013-OCT-29: Colour-Coordinating the RAM Blocks
25. 2014-FEB-20: Temporary Ghetto Setup
26. 2015-SEP-03: Progress! Motherboard Looped Up!
27. 2015-SEP-06: Assembled

PDF Version

http://alpenwasser.net/repository/files/helios.pdf

Current Status

Prologue

Yes, yes, the SR-2 is old news by now, I'm well aware of that. However, it was not yet when I started this build almost two years ago. Health troubles intervened soon after that (again) and put a stop to my plans. Since I really did not want to sell the hardware I had already bought (the SR-2 among it), I decided to stick it out and finish it when my health and funds allowed for it.

Originally, this was going to be a scratchbuild, but the nice thing about having such a long delay is that Caselabs have brought out pretty much the perfect case in the meantime. My own box would have been pretty similar in its layout to the SMH10 and also made from Alu. But buying all the raw materials and the tools necessary to do it properly would have probably cost me more than the SMH10, so I just decided to go for that.

The Name

Hysterical Excess Labouring Independently Of Sanity, aka HELIOS. Because: It's been going on for almost two years. And I am definitely starting to question my sanity .

Also: I've been naming my PC's after Greek deities since forever. The first PC I built was an AMD Thunderbird C 1.4 GHz machine back in 2001, which lasted me for a few years, and it was called Helios (I use the name as the PC's host name within our network, for those wondering what practical use it has).

It died a fiery death at the hands of a water cooling accident: Using the Eheim 1048 I had been befallen by the rattling pump wheel. Naturally, I wrapped some tape around the axle which solved that problem. Unfortunately, the tape became brittle over time and eventually, a piece of tape broke off and clogged the loop. Killed the flow, cooked the CPU (no overheating protection back then). I'll see if I can get some pics of the damage to the Cuplex and post them later. After that, I took that name out of use, until now. It's time for a revival.

Oh, the original HELIOS was name after the A.I. from the original Deus Ex game, but I've always had an interest in Greek mythology, so it was a nice fit.

The Inspiration

Originally, PrometheusCU. I'm sure many of you are familiar with it, and those who aren't: Go read it, now! I'll wait a few days. Sadly, its creator passed on and never finished it (it did go to a friend of his, but no activity since last summer, at least not in the original thread ). I don't nearly have his set of skills and/or tools, but that doesn't change the inspiration part. Also, B Negative's SR-2 rig.

Main Hardware

As a side note: The computing power of this rig will mostly go to BOINC (I might use it for gaming from time to time, we shall see). If F@H ever get their stuff together with regards to GPU folding on Linux (highly unlikely ), I might switch over to folding again, since I'd been doing that for about 18 months before switching to BOINC due to the GPU problem (and a few other niggles I have with the project's behavior towards its donors).

The O/S will most likely be Arch Linux (since I've been using that for about two years now and am quite comfortable with it), or if I feel experimental Gentoo or even FreeBSD. Certainly not Windows. I need my xterm and Z shell and UNIX utilities.

This is also why I won't get an Aquaero; the Aquasuite is Windows only, and an Aquaero without Aquasuite is, if possible, rather pointless imho :(

Anyway:

• M/B: EVGA SR-2
• CPU: 2 ⨯ Xeon X5680 (not ES, normal retail version, got them for half price on eBay, brand spanking new)
• RAM: 24 GB of Corsair Dominator 1866
• GPU: 1 ⨯ Geforce Titan (should do well at computing), 1 ⨯ GTX 780 (later addition).
• SSD: Intel 520 120 GB
• HDD: TBD
• PSU: Enermax Platimax 1200 W (don't need that much power, but the weaker models aren't fully modular, more reasoning for my decision later on)
• Case: Caselabs SMH10, reverse ATX layout, obviously in black

Originally, I was going to use a Koolance 1.7 kW liquid cooled PSU, but it turned out to be incompatible with the SR-2. I'm not kidding, the PSU is fine, as was the M/B last time I powered it on with a different PSU. Somehow, the initial self-check of the SR-2 is not liked at all by the Koolance PSU, so I've had to get a different one.

W/C Parts

Well, of course it will be under water! . In fact, all my PC's for the last 12 years have had to get wet.

• CPU blocks: 2 ⨯ XSPC Raystorm Copper Edition
• GPU block: Probably the Aquacomputer Titan block in copper with the acrylic top. Haven't ordered it yet though, so this might still change.
• RAM blocks: Alphacool Dominator water blocks in copper with plexi (update: replaced /w acetal) tops. Yes, cooling your RAM with water is absolutely unnecessary. I just like how it looks.
• M/B block: MIPS SR-2 block in Acetal/Copper
• Pumps: 2 ⨯ Aquacomputer D5 without Aquabus
• Pump tops: 2 ⨯ Alphacool D5 pump tops in Acetal
• Reservoir: Aquacomputer Aqualis Pro
• Radiators: 2 ⨯ Hardware Labs SR-1 560 + 1 ⨯ Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper 480 (that's the equivalent of ~14.89 120mm single radiators, for those wondering).
• Fans: For the moment, Bitfenix Spectre Pros in 140 mm and 120 mm, respectively. Some people seem to be having bearing troubles, if that happens, I will probably go for some Noctuas.
• Fan and Pump Controller: Lamptron FC5v2
• Flow Meter and Display: Koolance INS-FM17N with the DCB-FM01 as its display. I know flow monitoring isn't really necessary, and the Koolance flow meter doesn't really look good. This is mostly about satisfying my curiosity, and there's enough places in the SMH10 where I can hide the display and the sensor so that it doesn't uglify the build.
• Fittings: 16/10 mm compression fittings, Alphacool shiny copper and possibly also in black
• Tubing: 15 mm OD copper tubing (possibly some normal 16/10 tubing in some parts, to be determined). And yes, I have figured out a way to fit 15mm OD tubing into 16/10 compression fittings and getting it watertight (at least according to first tests, let's hope it keeps working).

I'm not yet absolutely sure how the RAM blocks will look, maybe it will just be too much or I will have to accent them with some black in order to avoid "Copper overload". We'll see.

Pictures

Aka the thing that people actually care about. I have my own web space and will be uploading the pictures to it. Quite a few reasons for that, none of them relevant here. There are a few scripts in the background which resize the pics to any desired resolution. I'll be resizing them to 800px width for now, which should not overload people's connections while still providing enough detail. If that's too much, let me know, I can reduce the standard size. Most pictures are stored in 1920x1440 on my server, so if anyone wants to see some additional detail, I will hyperlink each image to its own full-res version. You can also specify any arbitrary desired resolution with the following pattern:

    http://www.alpenwasser.net/images/w000/h000/imagename.extension

Where w000 and h000 are the desired width and height in pixels (you do need the preceeding "h" and/or "w" though). It's sufficient to use one of the two. If you use both, the image will be resized proportionally and the pixel values given will be treated as maxima. So, for those brave few who have not been deterred by my introductory novella, let's get started :)

Edited February 11, 2016 by alpenwasser
IPS4 Upgrade

[CocaholicApe]

Link does not work, just leads to a 404 error.

[alpenwasser]

Link does not work, just leads to a 404 error.

Which one? PrometheusCU? It does work for me.

Or the alpenwasser.net thing? I haven't actually uploaded a website, I'm currently just hosting the pictures and the

scripts for resizing them, and you need the specific image url for getting to it. The "link" above is just the pattern

you can use for getting the full size version of the corresponding image from this thread.

As an example, the logo up above has as its actual image url

http://www.alpenwasser.net/images/w800/aw--helios--logo.png

The "w800" resizes the pic to 800 pixels width before sending it to the client. Since it doesn't really make sense

to link the logo to its full size version, I haven't linked that one, but I will with the actual build pics.

So, the url for the full version of the logo is actually

http://www.alpenwasser.net/images/aw--helios--logo.png

Don't worry, I will post all pictures in this thread and link them correctly in the next few hours; you won't have to go

browse my non-existant website. It will all become obvious once I've posted the first actual content.

Thanks for the visit :)

[TicTac]

Pictures don't work :( sounds nice tho!

[alpenwasser]

Pictures don't work :( sounds nice tho!

Haha, I suppose I'm making some newbie error because I've never used IP Board before.

Ah well, first step in trouble shooting: Clear communication.

• There is only supposed to be one picture in this thread so far, which is the logo.

  In the first post, at the very top. All the rest is just code examples and explanations.

• That one and only pic does not work for you? Because for some reason it does for me.

I have checked with my server, and there are no policies set that should prevent you

from being able to view the logo (it works perfectly fine on OC3D btw.), and neither have

I hit a traffic limit. So if the logo really doesn't work for you I will admit to a

severe case of puzzlement :D. On my end everything looks exactly as I would expect it to.

In any case, thanks for the support :)

[alpenwasser]

The Caselabs SMH10

I ordered the case flat-packed; shipping to Switzerland was ~150 USD. Jim from Caselabs was very helpful with advice and making sure that what I was about to order made sense. Also, if anyone still has trouble with the pics, please let me know. Everything works as it should from where I'm sitting.

The Box

Unapacking the goodies:

Guarding the loot:

Always Use Protection... Which is, in this case, a thick wool blanket.

Ready, Set, Go!

First Steps

Getting to this stage was the only time where it would have been really useful to have a helping pair of hands. Everything from here on out was pretty easy.

Getting There...

Uh Oh!

The 3.5" HDD cage collided with the tie down points. I wrote to Caselabs and sent them a pic. They promptly responded saying they were trying to figure out what had gone wrong. After a few days Kevin wrote back to me saying that my main compartment divider (the big vertical plate in the main chamber) had accidentally been manufactured to an old spec and that they were going to send me a new one.

This actually worked out quite well because I'd forgotten a few small parts in my first order for which I now didn't have to pay shipping . Mistakes happen, what matters to me is how they are handled and Caselabs' customer service left nothing to be desired in this case.

TADA!

Out of Curiosity... Since I wanted to savor the moment and not slip with my screw driver, it took me a while to get everything together. I did slip once, and the paint job steadfastly refused to be scratched.

Edited February 8, 2016 by alpenwasser
IPS4 Upgrade

[andrevautour]

Looking forward to this!

[silentpower]

will be a nice build to follow

[unitus77]

I'm in. 

[alpenwasser]

Looking forward to this!

 

will be a nice build to follow

 

 

I'm in.

Thanks for the support :)

Am I correct in assuming the pics are working then?

[silentpower]

 

 

 

Thanks for the support :)

Am I correct in assuming the pics are working then?

yea thay are working just the links in first post that is confusing

[alpenwasser]

yea thay are working just the links in first post that is confusing

Good to know, thanks for the feedback. Wouldn't want to make a text-only

project log (although: ASCII art, maybe :D ).

[FreakishKid]

one of my fav. cases...

Looking for to the build log...

[TicTac]

Now there working looking awesome man !

[alpenwasser]

one of my fav. cases...

Looking for to the build log...

Yeah I really like it as well. Well worth the (admittedly slightly ridiculous) price

imho, even with accessories, shipping and VAT (all in all it came to ~1000 USD).

But the build quality and engineering put into the details is second to none, which

makes it worth it (to me, at least), especially since I have a total fetish for those

two things (sort of a requirement for mechanical engineering :D ).

Now there working looking awesome man !

Excellent, I was starting to get worried there. I will catch the log up to date over

the weekend.

Thanks for the support :)

[swansburg]

Can't wait to see some progress on this :) great things to come

[james3015]

Second Caselabs build in two days, now time to kill my f5 key.

[crocski]

This should be interesting.. Followed

[Lystfiskern]

Cool stuff alpenwasser, and great to see Caselabs sorting things out the right way.

[Nicktrance]

Love caselabs xD. Can't wait to see more :)

[Wauthar]

Looking forward to seeing more! :D

[XiaoPigs]

This is one build I am definitely looking forward to. You don't see the SR-2 these days as well.

[alpenwasser]

Second Caselabs build in two days, now time to kill my f5 key.

:lol:

Can't wait to see some progress on this :) great things to come

 

This should be interesting.. Followed

 

 

Love caselabs xD. Can't wait to see more :)

 

 

Looking forward to seeing more! :D

Thanks for the support, folks! :)

 

Cool stuff alpenwasser, and great to see Caselabs sorting things out the right way.

Yeah, they're really great. It's not just that their service is quick and competent,

but they actually seem truly grateful for your business and give you the feeling that

they really appreciate you as a customer.

That's not something I've experienced too often.

 

This is one build I am definitely looking forward to. You don't see the SR-2 these days as well.

Hehe, indeed you do not. But it still packs quite a powerful punch compared to most setups

out there, and should serve me well for a few years. Sure it's not longer the fastest kid on

the block, but it's still pretty fast. And since I didn't originally buy it because I wanted

the fastest, but because I just found it a very interesting piece of technology, that's not

really a problem for me.

The SR-2 really is quite a unique piece of kit that came along just at the right time, sort

of like the Asus PC-DL Deluxe was back in 2003 or so. Also, it will be much more interesting

(and challenging) to overclock this baby than a socket 1155 or 2011 system. BCLOCK, baby! B)

 

It's quite a shame that EVGA's M/B team left (though I suppose they had good reasons) and their

lineup has gone down the drain since then. Although judging from the new X79 board that they

recently showcased, it looks like things might get better again. But good benchmarks and O/C

results don't necessarily guarantee good usability (BIOS interface) or stability, so I will

reserve final judgement until reviews come out.

[alpenwasser]

Radiators

As mentioned, I will be using two Hardware Labs SR-1 560's and one Alphacool XT45 480, or the equivalent of ~14.89 120 mm single rads. Both the SR-1 and the XT45 are excellent at the low fans speeds I will be using, according to Martin's Liquid Lab (SR-1 review, XT45 review).

I went with the XT45 instead of a third SR-1 in 480 for two reasons:

• The SR-1 in 480 is not available until some time in June/July where I live
• The SR-1 is wider than a standard 120 mm rad, which means it might butt up against the vertical M/B compartment divider (not sure on that, but it might).
• The XT45 is thinner than the SR-1 which means it will be easier to fit inside the case (I won't be using an extended roof since I think they look kind of funny, and not in a good way ;)).

But since the XT45 is an excellent radiator anyway, this is no tragedy and I'm quite happy with the setup.

Isn't that 480 just cute?

There was mistake in my shipment of the SR-1's. I got the GTX560's instead. Had I kept them, I would have saved around 50 CHF (~41 EUR, 37 GBP, 53 USD). However, according to Martin's review, they are only really useful for high power fans, which is not at all what I intend to run.

Nonetheless, they are a stunning piece of workmanship, so I took a few pics before sending them back.

After a little while, I got what I had ordered, the SR-1:

The fins on this radiator are just about perfect.

Creating more turbulence (for improved heat exchange) and preventing dust buildup (according to HW Labs' PR).

The Alphacool XT45:

The fins are not as excessively structured as the SR-1's, but judging from cooling performance, it's still plenty enough ;)

Bottom Radiator Assembly

The 560's will go into the bottom compartment, while the XT45 will be mounted under the roof.

I had ordered some 30 mm Nylon screws to reduce vibrations. Sadly, they were too short by just about 1 mm or so. Ah well, it was worth a shot. On another note, I really like that the SR-1 uses M4 threads :)

One of the reasons the 30 mm screws were not long enough is that the threads on the SR-1 are slightly recessed. I could mount about 10 of the 16 screws through the Caselabs radiator bracket, but no way were they going to work with a gasket (which I need because of the 20 mm hole spacing, which leaves a gap between the fans).

Btw.: The side shrouds of the SR-1 are made from brass.

So, with the help of some 40 mm bolts and some Phobya radiator gasket tape, let's try this again.

As mentioned, the SR-2 has 20 mm spacing.

I will spray paint the screws with copper (well, cold plate them, really). But that's still a long way off.

Small oversight: Can't have this:

Fix:

The SR-1 has a 15 mm integrated shroud on one side, so there's plenty of room for those screws.

Edited February 8, 2016 by alpenwasser
IPS4 Upgrade

[David89]

That looks like a hell of a good job! WOW!

but just to clarify my...thoughts :D You are not using all three radiators, do you? If you do, what do you need them for? o.O